Author, Newark native Philip Roth calls it quits after 50 years of writing

Newark native and author Philip Roth poses in the Manhattan apartment in this March file photo.John Munson/The Star-Ledger

After a prolific career of writing, celebrated author Philip Roth is calling it quits.

In an interview with the New York times, the Newark native detailed how he decided to stop writing in 2010, after his novel "Nemesis," about the 1944 polio epidemic in his hometown — New Jersey's largest city.

Roth, 80, has written 31 books since his first in 1959. He stopped writing because he feels he has said what he needed to say, he told the Times.

"I no longer have the stamina to endure the frustration," he told the Times.

Despite ending a lengthy career in fiction, Roth was content with his decision, the Times said.

He now spends his time playing on his new iPhone and reading two hours a night — mainly 20th Century history and biography, the Times said.